October 3, 2014: Markets opened higher on Friday following the report on September non-farm payrolls which showed better-than-expected improvement. The trade deficit was also lower in August, and unemployment fell below 6%. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded up 1.22% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 1.14%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.11%.

The Dow 30 stock posting the largest percentage gain ahead of the close today was The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) which traded up 2.96% today at $188.22. The stock’s 52-week range is $151.65 to $188.58, and shares came with a dime of a new high. Goldman got a price target hike from Credit Suisse today and there is a report from Reuters that the bank is raising another infrastructure fund. Volume was about equal to the daily average of 2.5 million shares.

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) traded higher by 1.95% at $88.48. The stock’s 52-week range is $63.10 to $91.20. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 5.6 million shares. The mouse house announced yesterday that it had extended CEO Robert Iger’s contract through June 2018 yesterday.

The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) traded up 1.76% at $126.36. The stock’s 52-week range is $113.34 to $144.57. Trading volume was about 50% below the daily average of around 4.2 million shares. The company announced third quarter deliveries today and monthly orders and deliveries for September.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded up 1.77% at $59.89 in a 52-week range of $44.62 to $61.33. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 8.2 million shares. The stock started climbing right after the bell this morning, rose about 2% and then levelled off for the rest of the day. There was not specific news on the drug maker today.

All 30 of the DJIA index stocks are going to close higher today.

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